Tamim’s bouncer to critics of Mashrafe: What have they done in their lives
Collected
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal came down heavily on the critics of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who criticized his performance in various platforms and discussions.
Amongst the critics, former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar is the one who in expert opinion suggested if Mashrafe withdraws him from the team, it may benefit Bangladesh.
Tamim who also has been criticized for his poor run of form didn’t mention the name of Agarkar but made a well directed bouncer, questioning what he did in his life.
“Who are the people who are talking? That is very important,” Tamim said during a press conference when asked how the team saw the criticism, of which Tamim has also been a target.
“I will not talk about myself; let me just talk about Mashrafe bhai. Those writing about this or talking about this, they should just think for two minutes before doing so who they are talking about and what he has done for Bangladesh cricket for the past 15-16 years.”
“[They say] ‘he’s unfit’,” Tamim continued. “If he is unfit now, then he has been unfit for the last 10 years -- his knees were never okay, but then we saw it emotionally. Now, maybe we are looking at it as a big deal because things are not perfect. We are talking about a person, holding whose hand we have come here. I think it is very unfortunate because [considering] his contribution behind the Bangladesh team and bringing the team to this stage, to make comments like these is very unfair. I think he deserves much more respect than he is getting.”
“I don’t care what other people are saying. There are some foreign cricketers who said some things, I’ve heard. What have they done in their lives? That is the big question. What have they done that they can talk about a person like this,” Tamim said calmly. “To tell the truth, it is not important to me what people outside the country are saying -- everyone has their opinion and they can express it -- but people of the country should understand that when I am going to speak about Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, I have to remember what he has given to the country.
“You go through that circle, you play well and you don’t play well. It shouldn’t be that you will be with the player only when he is playing well; you should also be by his side when he is not. In a mega event like this not every player plays well. I don’t know all of what is being said or written, but I know a bit. I hope that people don’t talk much about this. We should remember what he has done for Bangladesh cricket before writing these things.”
